I am assuming she can not order new glazes and must use what she has. First off she should make test tiles with the glazes so SHE can see what they look like as well as her students. The tiles should be examples of the glazes gloss/matt. I am not a math major but there are many permeations of how many test glazes she could get by brushing one color over the other, or more than one, etc, etc, etc.

Next she should teach students about pouring and splattering, scraffitto, using different color clay bases, masking off different areas (I used masking tape then carefully pulled off the masking tape right before firing). You can also NOT glaze the surfaces, but paint with regular paints, do a decoupage technique with other materials, spray paint, etc. The alternative useages should be on pieces that will NOT be used for food or drink (i.e. functional boxes, things with drawers, sculptural objects).

Just a word about scraffitto. I have seen some interesting pieces using this technique where you incise a design in the leather hard clay, bisque fire the work, then paint the glaze over the desing, then steel wool the glaze off the pot, but leave it in the crevices of the scraffito. Doesn't take much glaze, and it looks terrific when fired again.

Also another thing that looks terrific is if you fire your pot in one color, ie white, and when you take it out of the kiln you take it over to the sink while it is still pinging (and you wear gloves) and make sure you wear safety glasses too, you run the warm pot under cold water. This will crack the glaze all over the pot. You then put the pot aside until it is cool. You then work in small areas by putting black ink on a rag and putting it over the pot, making sure that you don't keep it on permanently on the glaze, but rub it into the cracks. You get a crackle effect on your pot. This is a technique not used for pots meant for food or drink.

San D

> From: makul9@gra.midco.net
> To: teacherartexchange@lists.pub.getty.edu
> Subject: [teacherartexchange] Advice needed: Glazes
> Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2010 06:39:42 -0600
>
> Anyone have advice for a new hs art teacher on glazes for her (low fire)
> ceramics unit? She inherited about 9 pints of Gare underglazes. I suggested
> just adding a clear glaze and giving the students the option of gloss/glazed
> and unglazed surfaces ( for her first year of teaching). Any additions that
> she should add?
> Thanks in advance for the help!!
> Mary in MN
>
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